To many surf contest watchers, the recent Natural Selection hit out at Micronesia raised some eyebrows. What was it? How does it work?

Yet if you've got a snowboarding or big mountain background, chances are you'd know full well what it was and how it works. You were probably keen to see surfing finally pick up the idea.

You see, Natural Selection Tour is the brainchild of US snowboarder Travis Rice. Rice wanted a competitive format that sidestepped the rigidity of organised runs and technical scoring, that lent more on artistry and improvisation while still awarding a winner.

Technology plays a big part in the concept as, in Natural Selection snowboarding at least, wild terrain is accessed and captured via drone. Footage that was once the preserve of an annual film release was now viewed and judged in real time.

Natural Selection found an enthusiastic audience in snowboarders, which was reason enough for Rice to expand the base. Hello surfing and MTB.

The recent surfing version had many commenters thinking Natural Selection would be the death knell of the WSL - the rebel tour had finally arrived. Yet unbeknownst to most, the guy who's backing the venture is also a WSL shareholder and he has an altogether different view on the matter. 

Swellnet: First of all Michael, where are you from and how long have you been surfing?
Michael Schwab: I’m originally from Menlo Park California up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I first surfed when I was 16 in Pebble Beach, but didn’t really get into it until I was 30. 

What are your favourite waves?
Cloudbreak, One Palm, Micronesia, Teahupoo, Bo’a in Rote.

What boards are you currently riding?
I have some Christensons I really love right now, but I’d say I foil more these days with Armstrong.

Michael piloting a black-railed Christenson through an Indo pipe (Stu Gibson)

Are you financially involved in the whole Natural Selection Tour venture or just the surfing aspect? 
Yes, I am a board member and an investor in the Natural Selection Tour, which includes all four sports [snowboarding, skiiing, surfing, mountain biking].

I first invested in 2020.

How did this come about, and equally importantly, why are you so interested in it?
I believe Travis [Travis Rice - founder of Natural Selection Tour] read an article about my involvement with the Kelly Slater Wave Company, the Surf Ranch, and my project in La Quinta, California, where we were going to build the Kelly Slater wave. Then he emailed me in the middle of the 2020 pandemic.

I'm a lifelong snowboarder and I love that world. I loved his ideas and what he wanted to do in the world of snowboarding. 

As you just mentioned, you're an investor in what are now WSL assets - the Kelly Slater Wave Company. Does Natural Selection jeopardise the WSL's position as the arbiter of performance surfing?
I first invested in the Kelly Slater Wave Company in 2013, and then we were acquired by the WSL. So yes, I’m still a WSL shareholder.

WSL and the Kelly Slater Wave Company own Surf Ranch. Abu Dhabi is a license. I think the WSL and Natural Selection Tour can support each other. It just expands the sport for everyone.

Moving forward, will there be a lone Natural Selection Surf event per year, or are there plans to have more?
Our ultimate goal is to have a tour for each of the four sports with at least two to three events per year, but that will be in the years coming if all goes well. 

Will you remain in Micronesia or do you plan to rotate locations, perhaps seeking new zones?
Still yet to be determined, but I can definitely see us going back to Micronesia again.

Hook up in East Nusa Tengarra (Stu Gibson)

'Fan favourites' appears to be the criteria for athlete inclusion in Natural Selection. Who has the final say in this, and do past winners get an automatic invite?
I believe winners get invited again, but a committee decides who participates in each event. 

If CT surfers can get permission to go in the Eddie, for example, could a CT surfer go in Natural Selection if they were invited? Would you even contemplate doing so?
I think at some point the WSL would be open to that sort of thing, however we want to be respectful of them. 

Regarding your recent contest: Will subsequent contests have the same judging format - no scores but gut feel from a bank of established surfers - or will the system be tinkered with?
This last event was our first and it was also bit of a test. I could see us using that same format, but I could also see us tinkering with it.

Find out more about Natural Selection Tour